Department for Transport

Roads: Capital Investment

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many major trunk and motorway road investment schemes were announced between 2005 and 2015.

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many contracts for construction and building of the trunk and motorway investment schemes announced between 2005 and 2015 have been agreed, not including planning and appraisal work; when those schemes were started; and when those schemes were, or are anticipated to be, completed.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: A total of 126 new schemes were announced between 2005 and 2015, comprising:9 schemes announced by Labour between 2005 and 2010;117 schemes announced by the Coalition between 2010 and 2015, comprising:o 10 schemes announced at SR2010 (note – the two other SR2010 schemes, A23 Handcross and A11 Fiveways, were entered into the Roads Programme in 2004 and 2000 respectively)o 6 schemes at AS2011o 5 schemes at AS2012o 27 schemes at SR2013 and the December 2013 National Infrastructure Plan updateo 69 schemes at AS2014 and the announcement of the Roads Investment Strategy (RiS1) In addition, a further 15 schemes were announced in the Roads Investment Strategy in 2014 for development so they are ready to start construction in the second road period (after 2019/20). Of the 126 schemes, HM Government contracts have been awarded for:Labour schemes - 8 of the 9, with the remaining scheme (A21 Baldslow junction) being cancelled at SR2010;SR2010 schemes – All 10;AS2011 schemes – All 6;AS2012 schemes – 4 of the 5, with the remaining AS2012 scheme (A30 Temple to Carblake) being delivered by Cornwall County Council and so it isn’t Highways England that has let a contract;SR2013 schemes – 16 contracts (including one scheme split into two contracts), with 11 still to be awarded. The remaining SR2013 scheme – A50 Uttoxeter – is being delivered by Staffordshire County Council and so it isn’t Highways England that has let a contract;AS14 / RiS1 schemes - Taking account of some of these schemes subsequently being merged for delivery, the 69 schemes comprise 64 schemes for contract award and delivery. Two of these schemes – A43 Abthorpe and M5 jns 5 to 7 – have had works start but no separate contract has been awarded since both schemes are being delivered through an existing contract with the respective Delivery Partner. None of the remaining 62 schemes have yet had contracts awarded.  The attached Appendix 1 details the start and completion dates.



HL3361, HL3362 - Appendix 1
(Word Document, 19.61 KB)

Roads: Capital Investment

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the sensitivity of the WebTAG system in making financial appraisals of the reliability of journey time.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Journey time reliability impacts are a key component of the WebTAG appraisal system, and their assessment is recommended for all scheme appraisals where relevant and proportionate to the decision at hand. WebTAG includes a robust methodology for monetising reliability impacts, drawing on the best available evidence base on the benefits to travellers of more reliable journeys. The Department’s value for money assessments take into account reliability benefits when considering the economic worth of a project. The relative size of reliability benefits compared to other impacts, such as travel time savings, varies significantly from scheme to scheme. For example, smart motorway schemes typically have a high proportion of reliability benefits, reflecting the fact they specifically target journey time reliability.

Roads: Capital Investment

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what allowance the WebTAG assessment system makes for disruption and delays during construction of road investment schemes.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: WebTAG recommends that costs to existing users due to disruption and delays during road construction projects are included in the appraisal. Standard traffic modelling approaches, as outlined in WebTAG units M1 to M3, are used to model the impacts of construction on the road network, which are typically longer journeys, increased vehicle operating costs and more accidents. These are then appraised using standard values of time, fuel and car maintenance costs, and the costs (both economic and human) of road accidents presented in WebTAG.

Roads: Capital Investment

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, when assessing road investment schemes using WebTAG, what proportion of the economic benefits were attributed to savings of two minutes or less.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Road investment decisions are supported with a five-part business case. The economic case aims to provide a comprehensive overview of a proposal’s impacts. These include a wide range of social and environmental factors, as well as time savings and economic impacts. The proportion of time saving benefits which are attributed to average time savings ‎per trip of two minutes or less varies between projects, depending on the nature of the scheme, and is not centrally held.

Skipton-Colne Railway Line

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had during 2016 with local authorities, campaign groups, train operators, potential investors and any other interested parties on reinstating the rail link between Colne and Skipton.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Interested parties have raised reinstatement of this link in correspondence and in meetings with Ministers and officials in the Department for Transport on a number of occasions this year. In particular, my Ministerial colleague Andrew Jones, Member of Parliament for Harrogate, met the Member for Pendle (Andrew Stephenson) and representatives of the SELRAP campaign group in July. In line with our devolution policies, it is for the relevant local transport authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships to decide whether to take forward reinstatement of this link to support regional economic connectivity and growth, and to secure appropriate funding. The Government makes substantial funding available to local bodies, including through the Local Growth Fund, to support them in delivering their priorities. The Department, and Rail North/Transport for the North, are ready to work with these local bodies should they wish to progress this scheme.

A12: A14

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to deal with congestion at the junction of the A12 and A14 trunk roads.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Highways England has no current improvement plans within the roads investment period (2015-2020) to alleviate congestion at the Copdock Interchange, where the A12 and A14 trunk roads meet in Suffolk. Highways England is now updating its East of England route strategy in preparation for the second Roads Investment Strategy (2020-2025) and options for improvement at this busy interchange will be considered.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the net annual cost to public funds of the MoT vehicle testing scheme; and whether they will review the requirement for new cars to have an MoT test after three years on the road.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The cost to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) of providing the MOT service in 2015/16 was £49,024k which was fully covered by charges made to garages through the MOT slot fee. The Government is intending to consult on changing the date of the first MOT for new cars. An announcement will be made when the consultation is launched.

Tunnels: Pennines

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the updated interim report on the Trans-Pennine tunnel strategic study published on 18 August, what is the maximum length of tunnel being considered; what assumptions are being made as to the hourly maximum capacity of HGV and car traffic that such a tunnel could carry safely; what rules about spacing between vehicles, maximum speeds are being considered, and how these compare with current and planned rules in the Mont Blanc and Gotthard road tunnels; and whether they will include in the study the option of building a rail tunnel and operating a rail freight shuttle for heavy goods vehicles to piggyback on rail wagons.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The results of the study have been published and are available on the gov.uk website, including potential routes and tunnel lengths, and consideration of alternative rail options. Detailed arrangements for operation of the tunnel will be developed at the appropriate point in the design process.

Motorways

Lord Condon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to extend the use of smart motorways; and what criteria will be used to assess the safety and operational efficiency of the existing smart motorways.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government is increasing road capacity as outlined in the Road Investment Strategy (RIS) for 2015 to 2020 and includes the ongoing conversion of the motorway hard shoulder into a running lane, known as the Smart Motorways. Following construction, all smart motorway schemes are monitored to assess their safety and operational performance by measuring changes in journey times, congestion and journey time reliability, as well as safety figures. England’s motorways are among the safest roads in the world and Highways England is confident that smart motorways will maintain this. On sections of the most recently completed schemes on the M25, the monitoring shows that collision and casualty rates are down, congestion is reduced and there are fewer unexpected delays.

A1: Dual Carriageways

Lord Steel of Aikwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Scotland concerning dualling the remaining parts of the A1 between Newcastle and Edinburgh which are not already dual-carriageway.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: This government is taking forward a package of investments to improve the A1 between Newcastle and the Scottish border, as announced in the Road Investment Strategy in December 2014. This includes dualling the A1 between Morpeth and Ellingham. Highways England is currently updating the route strategy for the A1, bringing together information from stakeholders, local communities and partners to gain a better understanding of its performance to help prioritise investment beyond 2020. The Scottish Government has been invited to contribute its views on the A1 as part of this process.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Scotland

Lord Steel of Aikwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Scotland about extending the HS2 route to Edinburgh.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: HS2 will serve Edinburgh on completion of the Y network in 2033, with journey times reduced to 3 hours 40 minutes. In line with the joint ministerial statement on 21 March 2016, the Department for Transport, Transport Scotland, Network Rail and HS2 Ltd, are working together to identify any and all options with strong business cases that could further improve journey times, capacity, resilience and reliability, with the ultimate aim of 3 hour journeys between London and Scotland’s central belt.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Israel: Palestinians

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning the reported demolition of the Bab al-Rahmeh cemetery in East Jerusalem.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We have not raised this issue with the Israeli authorities. We understand the demolition of the graves in question seem to have been outside the cemetery’s boundaries.

Israel: Palestinians

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning the use of rubber, and rubber-coated, bullets against civilians.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: ​The UK has repeatedly made clear to Israel our longstanding concerns about the manner in which the Israel Defence Forces polices non-violent protests and the border areas, including use of lethal and non-lethal ammunition.

Occupied Territories: Housing

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of reported statements made by an adviser to the US President-elect, what assessment they have made of future US policy regarding Israeli settlements and its impact on the peace process.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The UK Government is in regular contact with the US on a range of Middle East matters, including Israeli settlements and their impact on the Middle East Peace Process. We expect to continue this engagement with the incoming US administration.

Department for International Development

Pakistan: Religious Freedom

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Bates on 17 November (HL2963, 2965, 2966, 3010 and 3077) concerning religious freedom and education in Pakistan, what assessment they have made of the policies implemented in the Khyber Province in this regard.

Lord Bates: The DFID-funded Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Education Support Programme is assisting the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to develop policies to address inequality and improve educational outcomes for all children in the province. The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa implements the 2006 national curriculum which has been independently assessed to be based on the values of democracy, pluralism and peace. DFID is also supporting the government to revise its textbooks which will include replacing any content that promotes prejudice and discrimination against religious or other minorities.

Department for Education

Civil Partnerships

Baroness Gould of Potternewton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the petition presented to the Minister for Women and Equalities calling for the extension of civil partnerships to different sex couples.

Baroness Gould of Potternewton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they intend to made a decision on the future status of civil partnerships.

Lord Nash: The Government received a petition on extending civil partnerships to opposite sex couples from the Equal Civil Partnerships Campaign on 17 November.We are currently waiting for a judgment from the Court of Appeal on this matter and are unable to comment whilst legal action is ongoing.The Government is committed to equality, and we will provide an update on the Government’s position on civil partnerships once legal proceedings have concluded.

Textbooks: Saudi Arabia

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of reports by the BBC’s Panorama programme in 2010 that approximately 5,000 pupils in the UK are being taught the Saudi national curriculum, what action has been taken to ensure that school text books originating in Saudi Arabia which propagate hate speech and religious intolerance are not being used in schools, clubs and weekend schools in the UK.

Lord Nash: The Government is committed to ensuring that all children learn in a safe environment, protected from extremist or hateful views wherever they are receiving education. We are taking firm action where concerns arise, and have taken a number of steps to strengthen regulation in schools. Ofsted now inspects schools on the requirement to actively promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs, as well as on the breadth of the curriculum, which should prepare pupils for life in modern Britain. In addition, we have provided further resources to Ofsted to allow them to increase their investigative work into unregistered independent schools. Wherever such schools are found to be teaching hate or intolerance, we are taking action to close them and prosecute those operating them.Ofsted have not found any evidence of the text books referred to in the programme being used in schools that they have inspected.We have also taken steps to increase oversight of out-of-school settings, such as clubs and weekend schools. Prevent duty statutory guidance sets out the expectations on local authorities to take steps to understand the range of out-of-school settings in their areas and to ensure that children attending such settings are safeguarded, including from the risk of being drawn into extremism and terrorism. We set out plans to introduce a new system of regulation for out-of-school settings in our call for evidence which closed earlier this year. The proposed system would allow Ofsted to close such settings where there was evidence that they were engaging in extremist teaching or failing to adequately safeguard the children in their care. We received a large number of responses and will set out next steps in due course.

Ministry of Justice

Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and War Pensions: Appeals

Lord Craig of Radley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the consultation on Transforming our Justice System: panel composition in tribunals, whether they intend to preserve the use of tripartite panels, including Service members, in War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Appeals.

Lord Henley: The government is consulting on proposals to amend existing legislation to provide the Senior President of Tribunals with greater flexibility in his determination of panel composition in the unified tribunals, including the War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Tribunal. We believe our proposals will lead to a more proportionate, targeted approach to panel composition, with non-legal members being used in cases where their knowledge or expertise is really needed. Decisions on the composition of tribunal panels are, and will continue to be, made by the Senior President of Tribunals independently of my department.

Supreme Court: Judges

Lord Lamont of Lerwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Lord Chancellor has any responsibility for enforcing that section of the Supreme Court Guide to Judicial Conduct which concerns political activity by a close member of a justice's family.

Lord Henley: The Lord Chancellor has no immediate responsibility. In accordance with the published Supreme Court Judicial Complaints Procedure, the President of the Supreme Court, or his deputy, or the next senior Justice, is responsible for considering complaints about the conduct of Justices depending on who it is about. If formal action is required a tribunal is convened to report to the Lord Chancellor. It would then be for the Lord Chancellor to consider whether to take further action.

Prisons: Drugs

Baroness Smith of Basildon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which individuals and organisations were consulted prior to the publication of the Ministry of Justice's White Paper Prison Safety and Reform, with particular regard to the formulation of drug policy.

Lord Henley: Prior to the publication of the White Paper we consulted with a wide range of stakeholders, both within and outside of government. Drug policy proposals were developed with the Home Office, Department of Health, NHS England and Public Health England, as well as prison governors and local health commissioners. We will continue to consult with a range of stakeholders as we further develop and implement policy.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Mobile Phones

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure the improvement of the mobile phone network infrastructure to cover existing gaps in coverage on main transport routes.

Lord Ashton of Hyde: The Government recognises the importance of fitting out trains with new Wi-Fi equipment and improving mobile on rail networks in England and Wales. The Government is encouraging Train Operating Companies to develop innovative approaches to ensure good mobile coverage on their lines, and to see how best to eliminate not spots on their routes. The Department for Transport (DfT) have also introduced obligations for free Wi-Fi across all our rail passenger franchises, and this is now secured in 10 (out of 15) franchises. DfT forecast that 90% of passenger journeys will have access to free Wi-Fi by the end of 2018, with nearly 100% by 2020.

Lake District

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of progress in the attempt to gain UNESCO World Heritage status for the Lake District.

Lord Ashton of Hyde: The Lake District’s bid for World Heritage Site status is now in the advanced stages. The evaluation mission to the site took place in October 2016, with HMG in attendance, and the expert evaluators are currently compiling their report. DCMS has provided further information to assist with this, and will continue to do so as requested. The final decision will be taken by the World Heritage Committee in July 2017.

BBC

Lord Porter of Spalding: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the BBC as part of its Charter renewal to ensure that local government is represented on the BBC’s coverage of local elections and across the BBC’s current affairs programmes.

Lord Ashton of Hyde: How the BBC covers local elections is an editorial matter for the BBC. The Government's reform to the BBC's public purposes ensure that they provide impartial news and information to help people understand and engage with the world around them.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits: Children

Baroness Smith of Basildon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment has been made of the impact that the lowering of the benefit cap will have on vulnerable children.

Lord Freud: The Government carefully considered the impact of the reduced benefit cap on children as part of the policy making process. The government believes that work is the best route out of poverty and it is not in the best interests of children to live in workless households. The benefit cap is expected to encourage more parents to work which is in the best interests of children. A wide range of help and support has been put in place to assist parents, including budgeting and employment support and support with child care. DHPs are also available to assist those affected by the measure. The Government has allocated a total of £870m for DHP payments for five years from 2016/17. Exemptions apply where someone in the household is entitled to a disability benefit such as Personal Independence Payment or Disability Living Allowance. We have introduced new exemptions for households where someone is entitled to Carer’s Allowance, the carer’s element of Universal Credit, or Guardian’s Allowance. Parents affected by the benefit cap will still be entitled to £23,000 p.a. in Greater London and £20,000 p.a. outside Greater London which is more than the earnings of many working households. The Government published an updated Impact Assessment on 25 August, 2016 which is available on the Gov.Uk website. An Equality Analysis was published on the legislation.gov.uk website on the same page as Statutory Instrument Number 2016/909.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Food: Self-sufficiency

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the UK is self-sufficient in staple foodstuffs; and if not, whether they plan to make the UK self-sufficient.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The UK’s current production to supply ratio is 76% for indigenous-type foods and 61% for all foods. This has remained steady over the last decade and is not low in the context of the last 150 years.Global food security is dependent on a number of factors including increasing production sustainably, reducing waste and ensuring open markets around the world to facilitate trade.The Government remains committed to publishing a 25 Year Food and Farming Plan. The Plan aims to increase the competitiveness and productivity of British producers, enabling them to compete more effectively in domestic and overseas markets.

Flood Control: Finance

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Lord Young of Cookham on 23 November, what criteria are used to allocate the £2.5 billion available for flood defence schemes.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: Funding is allocated to projects on the basis of the economic benefits the scheme could achieve in terms of the flood damages it would avoid, including damage to businesses, and the number of homes that would be better protected from flooding or coastal erosion.

Plastics: Recycling

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the findings of the Recoup UK Household Plastics Collection survey that (1) only a third of recyclable plastic was recycled by consumers in 2015, (2) consumers are confused about what plastic products and types of plastic can be recycled, and (3) there is considerable variation in the plastic products and types of plastic that can be recycled by different local authorities; and what action they intend to take to increase the amount of plastic that is recycled by consumers.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Government welcomes the Recoup UK Household Plastic Collection Survey as a helpful contribution to our knowledge on plastics collection and recycling. The total amount of plastic material collected from waste from households for recycling has increased from 279 kilotonnes (kt) in 2010, to over 420kt in 2014. This performance has been down to the hard work of local authorities and residents to recycle more. Around 99% of local authorities covering 97% of households (low rise and flats) in England offer a collection service for plastic bottles. Seventy-two per cent of local authorities covering 67% of households also offer a collection service for plastic packaging (pots, tubs and trays). The Government recognises that there are still challenges and is working with the Waste and Resource Action Programme (WRAP) to improve the recyclability of plastics and to help residents to recycle more. WRAP recently published new recycling guidelines agreed with local authorities, waste management companies and reprocessors. These set out in detail what can and cannot be collected for recycling and how householders can help to reduce contamination and increase recycling, including plastics recycling. The Government has also been working with WRAP on developing and delivering activities in support of the use of recycled plastics in new products, and on activities to stimulate demand. For example, the Plastics Industry Recycling Action Plan has identified key actions that need to take place across the whole supply chain to ensure that recycling plastics packaging can be done sustainably. This includes design for recyclability, collections and sorting, reprocessing and development of sustainable end markets. In September this year, WRAP and an industry advisory group published a framework for greater consistency in recycling collections. This framework aims to identify opportunities to rationalise packaging formats (in particular plastic packaging) to those that are recyclable and for which there is a steady market and to help local authorities to recycle a greater variety of plastics. A working group from this project is looking at the opportunities to rationalise plastic packaging, where practical and environmentally sensible to do so. This includes new communications materials and messages from Recycle Now and work on developing new end markets and applications for recycled plastics. Other work in the consistency framework seeks to promote comprehensive collection services, including for plastic packaging.

Neonicotinoids

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to make representations to the EU to change existing rules prohibiting the use of neonicotinoid pesticides as a seed dressing.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Government remains of the view that decisions on the use of neonicotinoids and other pesticides should be based on a careful scientific assessment of the risks. Pesticides that carry unacceptable risks to pollinators should not be authorised. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is carrying out a review of the evidence on the effects of neonicotinoids on pollinators, including evidence that has emerged since the current restrictions were put in place. The Commission will then consider whether to propose changes to the existing restrictions. Government experts will participate in the EFSA review and our approach to the subsequent EU negotiations will be based on our view of the evidence.

Home Office

Asylum: Children

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the statement by the Home Secretary on 24 October (HC Deb, col 56) that "the French Government [had] requested that we did not transfer children outside of the Dublin regulation process", what rationale they received from the government of France for that request.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The UK continues to work closely with the French authorities to ensure eligible children under the Dublin Regulation and section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 are transferred to the UK as soon as possible. Since 10 October we have transferred over 300 children, and as the Home Secretary told Parliament last month, we expect several hundred more children will be brought to the UK in the coming days and weeks. Prior to the camp clearance operation the Government focused on transferring those children with close family links to the UK under the Dublin Regulation and transferred over 80 asylum seeking children from France since the beginning of the year. Since the clearance operation was announced and upon agreement with the French, the Government has worked at pace to process the children who are eligible for transfer to the UK. We continue to work closely with the French to ensure those children who were in the camp at the time of the clearance operation are interviewed to assess their eligibility to be transferred to the UK. We also must ensure that the proper safeguarding, age assessment and security checks are carried out, and that it is in each child’s best interests to come to the UK. All unaccompanied asylum seeking children who have been brought to the UK are entitled to legal advice supported by legal aid. The Home Office is continuously monitoring its response to the migrant situation in France.

Asylum: Children in Care

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average yearly cost of supporting an unaccompanied asylum-seeking child in the UK.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Government significantly increased the funding provided to local authorities looking after Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) in July. These rates are based on a detailed analysis of financial information sent to the Home Office by local authorities about their actual cost of caring for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children. The analysis showed that the average cost across all local authorities of looking after an Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Child aged under 16 was approximately £41,610 per annum and the average cost of supporting those aged 16 and 17 was approximately £33,215 per annum.On 1 November myself and my hon. Friend, the Minister for Vulnerable Children and Families, made a statement to Parliament on safeguarding unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee children where we committed to regularly review funding to support and care for unaccompanied asylum-seeking and refugee children, working closely with the Local Government Association and local authorities.

Asylum: Children

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will provide a definitive figure for the total number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children to be transferred to the UK under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016.

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, and if so why, they are excluding unaccompanied asylum-seeking children over the age of 12 who are not of Syrian or Sudanese origin, given the terms of section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 and the proportion of the children in the Calais camp at the time of demolition who were of Eritrean or Afghan nationality.

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether excluding from transfer to the UK of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children over the age of 12 who are not of Syrian or Sudanese origin is compatible with Article 2 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the guidance on transferring children under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 excludes 16-, 17- and 18-year olds unless they are an accompanying sibling of a child meeting one of the other three criteria.

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what training is provided to immigration officials conducting Best Interest Determination interviews under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: We will specify in due course the number of unaccompanied refugee children to be transferred to the UK under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016.The Immigration Act states that we will relocate unaccompanied refugee children. Our criteria under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 are intended to ensure that we are focusing on the most vulnerable children. In France, we will be considering those aged 12 and under of any nationality, children referred to us by the French authorities as being at a high risk of sexual exploitation of any nationality, and those nationalities most likely to qualify for refugee status in the UK, aged 15 and below. The criteria for relocating children to the UK from France, under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016, are based on the reasonable likelihood of their qualifying for refugee status and achieving long-term stability. The criteria are therefore in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.The guarantee of rights in relation to children, and the delivery of appropriate services to individual children, is currently provided by the French State. Our policies do not deprive any child of access to these benefits and therefore are fully in line with the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child. Furthermore, Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 requires the Secretary of State to carry out their immigration and asylum functions in a way that takes into account the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in the UK. Where a child is outside the UK, the spirit of the duty should be applied. Social workers, rather than Home Office staff, are carrying out best interest determinations in France.

HM Treasury

Small Businesses: Taxation

Lord Vinson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the fact that most small businesses assess their profits annually in arrears, whether it is the intention of HM Revenue and Customs to make small businesses report their income and expenditure quarterly; and what assessment they have made of the feasibility of this requirement.

Lord Young of Cookham: HM Revenue and Customs published a consultation document setting out the Government’s proposals on 15 August 2015 entitled “Making Tax Digital: Bringing business tax into the digital age”. The consultation included an initial assessment of the impacts on businesses. The consultation closed on 7 November. The government is currently considering the responses to the Making Tax Digital consultations and will publish its response and draft legislation in January, together with an updated Tax Impact Assessment.

Social Enterprises: Tax Allowances

Lord Balfe: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect the application for EU state aid clearance for an enlarged social investment tax relief scheme, announced in the Autumn Statement in 2014, to be given clearance from the European Commission; and why there has been a delay of over two years.

Lord Young of Cookham: At Autumn Statement 2016 the Government announced the enlargement of Social Investment Tax Relief. From 6 April 2017 the investment limit will increase to £1.5 million for enterprises aged up to seven years old. Other changes will ensure the scheme is well targeted, and the relief will be reviewed within two years of its enlargement. The scheme is the first of its kind in Europe and therefore discussions with the European Commission on the nature of the State aid issues have taken some time to conclude.

Social Rented Housing: Rural Areas

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to reform the income tax relief system to encourage the building of social housing on rural exception sites; and if so, what are those plans.

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to look at reform of the rollover relief provisions for Capital Gains Tax to encourage the building of social housing on rural exception sites; and if so, what are those plans.

Lord Young of Cookham: The Government currently has no plans to reform the income tax relief system or rollover relief provisions for Capital Gains Tax in order to encourage the building of social housing on rural exception sites.

Department of Health

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Prior of Brampton on 11 July (HL1098), 7 November (HL2544) and 21 November 2016 (HL3076), when Professor Peter Braude was a member of the expert panel convened by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that the expert panel has sat on four occasions since 2011. Professor Peter Braude has been a member of all four panels.